Dealing with technology during a divorce

People in Minnesota who decide to divorce may find themselves emailing back and forth with their lawyers and discussing the breakup of their marriages using their smartphones, email accounts and other digital devices. Just like with other key events in people’s lives, a divorce often sparks a great deal of electronic communication. In addition, it may inspire people to make some changes to their accounts and devices in order to protect their privacy and prepare for the single life to come.

Many married couples share passwords to online accounts. These can range from entertainment options like Netflix and Spotify to joint credit cards, mortgages and online banking accounts. While joint banking accounts should generally be left alone during a divorce, people may want to change their passwords to all of their personal accounts. While married, some people choose to share passcodes for their smartphones, passwords for their laptops or access to their personal email accounts or messenger services. In most cases, people will want to change the level of access they provide to their ex-spouse. Even for accounts that remain joint during the marriage, passwords should be changed if they are kept by one person after the divorce is finalized.

People may also want to think about how they deal with their social media accounts and what level of access they wish to allow to their former spouse. While amicable couples may remain friends, others may prefer to block a former partner after a contentious divorce.

The technical side of divorce reflects just how many aspects of life can be changed by the end of a marriage. A family law attorney may work with a divorcing spouse to address questions and work to achieve a fair settlement of all divorce legal issues.